Assessment of drinking-water quality in indigenous communities of Santa Victoria Este, Argentina

Santa Victoria Este, in the northeast region of Argentina, is one of the poorest regions of the country because of historic socioeconomic marginalization and poor governmental assistance. Over 60% of its population is estimated to belong to Indigenous communities. Access to water is mainly through community wells, often lacking adequate infrastructure. With the main objective of empowering Indigenous communities in relation to access to safe water, we (1) established a local laboratory with the capacity to analyze microbiological and physical and chemical parameters of water and transfer capabilities to the local community to ensure long-term monitoring and (2) assessed the water quality in 34 communal wells. Results of physical, chemical, metal, and microbiological parameters show that 70.6% of the groundwater supplies are not safe for human consumption because they exceed the limits established by Argentinian regulations. Microbiological contamination was consistently found in water storage systems (tanks), highlighting the imperative need of water treatment and maintenance. A long-term monitoring program that includes physicochemical and microbiological parameters is crucial to ensure the quality of water in these communities and to formulate appropriate decisions and measures.